The Slum Cat 
the water. It was not a fire; Kitty had seen 
one of those things. This looked more like 
the work of a flock of the Red-eyed Monsters. 
Pussy knew nothing of the great bridge that 
was to rise from this very spot. 
When the sun came up she sought for 
cover. An adjoining block still stood with 
little change, and the Royal Analostan retired 
to that. She knew some of its trails; but once 
there, was unpleasantly surprised to find the 
place swarming with Cats that, like herself, 
were driven from their old grounds, and when 
the garbage-cans came out there were several 
Slummers at each. It meant a famine in the 
land, and Pussy, after standing it a few days, 
was reduced to seeking her other home on Fifth 
Avenue. She got there to find it shut up and 
deserted. She waited about for a day; had an 
unpleasant experience with a big man in a 
blue coat, and next night returned to the 
crowded slum. 
September and October wore away. Many 
of the Cats died of starvation or were too weak 
to escape their natural enemies. But Kitty, 
young and strong, still lived. 
64 
